Revenge is a Dish Best Served Freeze Dried
by Red Tigress
Summary: Three months after Nero's demise, the crew of the Enterprise discovers not all the future Romulans died with their captain.
1. Chapter 1

Khaiel Tovan watched from a small shuttle along with a handful of other Romulan survivors as their last hope was decimated. Silence permeated the small craft, other than the loud breathing of the occupants as they watched their only hope for a return back home.

_Not home_, he corrected himself. _Our time_. There was not much of a home left for them there. But now his path was clearly laid out before him.

He had greatly admired Nero. They had felt the same pain as they watched their homeworld destroyed from aboard the _Narada_, and the same desire for revenge as they had destroyed Vulcan in this time line. He gritted his teeth savagely, as together the small band watched as the _USS_ _Enterprise_ escaped from the gravitational anomaly, to disappear into warp. No one said a word. Nothing needed to be said.

Tovan had rounded up those most loyal to him long before the Enterprise had shown up. He knew once the Vulcan had escaped with the red matter, there was no hope. Some might call it cowardice. He called it a chance to exact a more appropriate revenge.

The Romulan grinned savagely, plans already formulating in his mind. He'd start with the one that called himself Kirk.

_**Three Months Later.**_

Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Jim to his friends, sauntered confidently onto the bridge of the _USS Enterprise_. They were not scheduled to depart for another few hours, but Sulu and Chekov were already aboard, making preparations. They quickly rose to their feet and stood at attention when he entered. The young captain groaned, dramatically rolling his head back.

"I told you guys, you don't have to do that. We're not even off shore leave yet."

"Yes sir," they both replied, sitting back down. He smiled to himself, knowing things probably wouldn't change. He slumped in the captain's chair, munching on an apple as he watched the two continue their work. He realized dully that there was someone else missing. His bright blue eyes whipped around the bridge, already knowing he wouldn't find who he was looking for.

"Where's Spock?" he asked them. Usually the half-Vulcan would be preparing the ship right along with the rest of the eager young crew. Sulu swiveled around in his chair to face the captain. "He was here earlier, but I think he's taking some…ah…personal time…Sir." The helmsman finished uncertainly. Kirk grinned.

"No need to be evasive Sulu, if the rest of the ship doesn't know him and Uhura are together by now, then they're not as sharp as I'd hoped." Sulu smiled at that, turning back around. While not exactly open about their relationship, the couple sure as hell hadn't been subtle, either. He wasn't concerned though. He knew the first officer would be back with time to spare well before the ship left. Kirk popped up again, finishing his apple as he did so. He looked for a place to throw it. "Where's the damn trashcan in this place?"

Chekov pointed over towards the door without looking up from what he was doing. "Over der, Keptin." Kirk then remembered he had asked that question about three times in the past week alone.

"Oh…right. Carry on!" He got up, walking briskly over towards the doors to the bridge. As they opened with a gratifying _whoosh_, he threw the core down the disposal shoot next to them.

He began to make his way down to the medical bay to visit his friend, Leonard "Bones" McCoy. The doors opened before him, and he stepped into the darkened medical bay. A soft snoring was emanating from across the empty room. "Lights," he said, followed by a soft glow in the infirmary. The chief medical officer was snoring away on a bed, his clothes in disarray. Kirk, smiling, stalked over to him. "Gee, Bones, just cause you're Chief Medical Officer doesn't mean you have to live in here," he said loudly. He was rewarded when the snoring hitched as McCoy awoke with a start, blinking rapidly and looking around before his eyes finally rested on Kirk's. His look of confusion quickly changed to a grimace as his eyes settled on the calm ones of his commanding officer.

"I don't live here, Jim," he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly. "They were doing some maintenance when I came in, and needed access to some goddamn vents through my quarters. This was the only other quiet place on the blasted ship." He blinked rapidly, and his eyes settled on Kirk's again as he seemed to organize his thoughts. "What were you doing looking for me in here, anyway? I'm a little insulted, Jim."

Kirk rocked back and forth on his heels. "Mm, just a hunch." In reality, Kirk had asked the maintenance crew to specifically check the vents they needed access to through McCoy's quarters, to pay him back for all those shots he insisted on injecting him with on a regular basis. Poor design on the Enterprises' engineers' part, but fortunate for him whenever he wanted to kick McCoy out of his quarters.

McCoy seemed to take his silence as a clue. "I know you had something to do with it," he growled. Before either man could take action though, the lights flickered quickly. They both looked uselessly at the ceiling, just in time to see the lights flicker again, but this time remained off with a soft shudder, plunging them into darkness. "Did you organize this too?" McCoy huffed.

"No, actually," Kirk said, trying to feel for the wall in the darkness. He ran into an unoccupied bed, jamming his waste as he did so. "Ow! Goddamn it, this place could use some organization!" he huffed. He heard McCoy moving around now, in the opposite direction.

"The beds are nailed to floor, _Captain_," he oozed out the last word sarcastically. Kirk emitted a defeated grunt. He finally reached the wall, feeling along side it for a communications panel. He hoped Bones didn't leave used needles around. He could hear the doctor now shuffling around in some kind of box. Moments later, a beam of light shined on him, and he shot his hand up to his eyes. "The communications panel is over there," he said, moving his flashlight as he correctly guessed Kirk's intentions. The captain quickly let out a thanks, as he hurried over to it, now able to see.

He pressed down the button, and it emitted a small chirp. Well, at least communications were up. "Kirk to Bridge," he said. As he awaited a reply, McCoy came up behind him.

"Weird that the auxiliary power's not working," he mumbled. Kirk pressed down the button again, repeating his request. There was still no reply. He turned back around to McCoy.

"Let's go," he said. The doctor nodded in reply, all joking between them done. They made their way quickly down the hallway, looking for the fastest way to the bridge.

As the lights flickered on the bridge, Chekov looked uncertainly at Sulu. "Probably just a power surge," Sulu said. They were, after all, still docked. There wasn't a lot of cause for concern. Usually maintenance was just fooling around with some of the minor systems. When the lights flickered again and stayed off, the control panels did as well, though the bridge was still slightly illuminated from the station's lights outside.

"Vat is dis?" Chekov exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Sulu didn't have a chance to answer, for at that moment, the grating above Chekov tumbled open, and a dark mass fell on top of him, knocking him to the floor. Sulu scrambled up, reaching for his extendable sword and phaser, only to realize too late he had left them both in his quarters. The dark figure rose up from its crouch over Chekov's prone form. Sulu spared him a quick glance just to make sure he was still breathing, which he was. Sulu gritted his teeth at the figure, preparing for the impending fight. He wasn't nearly as skilled in hand to hand combat as he was with a sword, but he knew a few moves.

The figure was cloaked in heavy black cloth that clung tightly to his body, but covered his entire head except for his eyes, which were a menacing black. He was a lot bigger than Sulu too, and carried wicked looking daggers in both hands. "Where is Kirk?" he hissed.

"Go to hell," Sulu growled back. The figure didn't wait then, but lunged towards the officer. He swerved to the side out of the way of one of the daggers. The assassin turned his back on Sulu, attempting to use the momentum to swing his other dagger into him, but Sulu blocked the attack with his forearm to the attacker's wrist. Sulu grabbed the wrist with his other hand, smashing it into the console, making the attacker drop the knife. He retaliated with a savage kick to his kneecap. The officer cried out, falling on the floor, but grabbing the discarded knife as he did so. He slashed at his attacker's shins, and was rewarded when the assassin grunted and green blood flowed through the cloth.

_Romulan?_ Sulu thought to himself, but had no time to dwell on it as the attacker tried to drive the blade he still had into his scalp. He quickly rolled out of the way, his kneecap protesting at the contact with the hard surface. He got back up on his good leg, breathing harshly. The attacker lunged again at him, looking to drive the knife into his chest. He deflected it with his own, but the Romulan's momentum threw him to the ground again. He got off a punch to his face, but it hardly seemed to do much other than to further agitate his attacker, who then slammed his head against the floor.

Dazed, Sulu barely registered the assassin's knife coming at him again, but got his hand up in time to grab the attacker's wrist and twist savagely, the knife falling out of his grip. His answer was another vicious punch to the face, making him let go of his attacker's wrist. The Romulan then grabbed two handfuls of Sulu's shirt, lifting him up the wall. The officer's head rolled, as he slammed him back on the console. "Where…is….Kirk?" he growled. Sulu just flashed a bloody smile at him. Enraged, the assassin howled as he hurled the prone man across the room into a glass cartography chart. It cracked as Sulu flew into it, and then slid to the floor, motionless.

The Romulan breathed heavily for a moment, and then walked slowly towards the unconscious man, who was breathing shallowly, scooping up a knife as he did so. He didn't make it all the way before the door to the bridge whooshed open. Alarmed, the Romulan looked over to see none other than the Vulcan.

It only took a second for Spock to conclude what was happening. He drew his phaser shouting "Stop!" as he did so. But the assassin weaved in and out of his bolts, hopping from Chekov's console back up into the duct he had entered the bridge at. Spock dropped his phaser, running to the injured Sulu.

Luckily, Kirk and McCoy chose that moment to show up. The cracked glass on the consoles and blood on the floor didn't need a genius to guess what had happened. "Doctor!" Spock called out. McCoy then noticed the bloodied and unconscious Sulu on the floor. He rushed over, Kirk in tow. As McCoy began checking Sulu's vitals, Kirk turned to his first officer.

"What happened?" he asked.

Spock shook his head gently. "I am not sure. When the lights went out, I decided it would be best to report to the bridge. I arrived in time to see a masked attacker trying to kill Sulu. I took some shots at him, but he escaped somewhere in the ship." Kirk had been scanning the rest of the bridge as Spock was talking, and his eyes now fell on the young Chekov.

"Shit," he said, hurrying over. He quickly fell down by Chekov's head, checking his pulse and listening for his breathing. Both were strong, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He lightly tapped the young Russian's face. "Hey…hey, Chekov…" meanwhile, Bones was yelling at Spock to call in a stretcher. Spock had to hail the medical team inside the station. Chekov began moaning as Kirk continued lightly slapping his face.

"Keptin?" he said groggily. "Vat…vat happened?"

Kirk sighed, looking over in the direction of McCoy and Sulu. McCoy had stabled his neck with an inflatable brace, and was now running a scanner over him to assess his other injuries. "I was hoping you could tell me." He said quietly. He helped Chekov sit up, who upon seeing the bridge, gasped something in Russian. Mistaking his surprise for pain, Kirk focused his intense eyes back on the ensign. "Are you ok?"

Chekov nodded vigorously. "Yes, Keptin, someting knocked me out, but I am fine now." He looked at Sulu, worry crossing his features. "Vill Hikaru, be ok?" Kirk sighed again, not answering his question right away. By then, the medical team had arrived, gently laying the prone officer onto a backboard as they then lifted him to a stretcher. They wheeled him out, McCoy following.

Kirk moved over to his chair, miraculously unharmed in the scuffle, and sat down heavily, resting his forehead on his hands. "Spock, inform command we have a breech, and need to seal off the ship and the branch of the station it's docked at. Start organizing search teams, and get Scott up here. I want that bastard found." His voice never raised higher than if he were chatting with someone right in front of him. Nonetheless, there was no doubt about his ruthless intent.

"Yes, Sir." Spock began carrying out his orders.

_I do not own Star Trek and am making no profit from this piece. This is my first Trek piece, so sorry if some of the techno aspects are a bit off. I'm used to Stargate where they use actual guns. :p_


	2. Chapter 2

An hour after the attack, the Bridge hummed with activity. Scotty had effectively managed to turn the lights back on, and along with Spock and Chekov were pouring over ship diagrams to possibly guess where the assassin had gone. The young Russian had little more than a bump on the head, and since they were understaffed Kirk had given in to his insistence that he was more useful here then sitting around twiddling his thumbs in the infirmary. Uhura had joined them, and with another crew member were diligently scanning security videos, looking for signs of the attacker.

Kirk himself was a little unsure what to do, leaving most of the delegations to the first officer. He had taken to organizing search parties with the few security members who had been on board at the time of the incident.

The communications line chirped, followed by the doctor's voice: "McCoy to Enterprise." Movement stilled, and many anxious faces turned to regard the captain. Not making eye contact with any of them, Kirk leaned down to press the control panel on his chair.

"Go ahead, Bones."

"Captain, you wished to be notified when Sulu was awake."

"On my way," Kirk said standing up. "Spock, let's go." The first officer followed silently as they left the bridge.

On the way to the docking center's infirmary, Kirk couldn't help but keep glancing above them at the ceiling and vents, half expecting an attack. His movements didn't go unnoticed. "Captain, the likelihood the same person who attacked Chekov and Sulu is in this hallway when we are is extremely low."

Kirk regarded Vulcan with a smirk. "Doesn't hurt to be prepared. Sides, I owe that bastard," he grimaced.

"I agree. I am…distressed over what happened to Mr. Sulu. In case we do see him, I have my phaser. And it is not set to stun." Kirk couldn't suppress a grin at that.

They exited the Enterprise, emerging into the bigger, older hallways of the docking station. Luckily the infirmary wasn't too far, and they passed the security detail guarding the doors. The men saluted them, and allowed them to pass.

McCoy came to meet them. Kirk tried to steel himself for the worst, but couldn't help but feeling woefully inadequate. McCoy looked a bit haggard himself, a result of the impromptu care following his sleepless afternoon. He cut right to the chase.

"Well, the good news is he doesn't have a spinal injury like we initially thought. Just some bruising on the neck muscles. Other than that…" he sighed heavily as they made their way over to the helmsman's bed. "…he took quite a beating. Concussion, two broken ribs, and a dislocated patella. He'll be in a lot of pain when the meds whereof, but luckily nothing permanent. We'll just have to monitor him for the next few days." Kirk nodded as he and Spock stopped at Sulu's side. He was covered to the waist in a sheet, his torso wrapped in bandages, as was his head. Dark bruising covered his entire chest and face. He slowly turned his head, his eyes heavily lidded and his breathing slow and deep.

"Captain," he rasped out. Kirk gently placed his hand on Sulu's, giving him a smile that did not touch his eyes.

"Hey, Sulu. How you doin?" Sulu huffed out a low grunt that may have been a laugh.

"Like shit…"

"I understand. Been there myself, remember?" he sighed, turning serious. "Sulu, I need to know what happened." He looked at McCoy, who had one had poised at the corner of his mouth, looking concernedly at his patient.

"Romulan…tried to kill me…" Kirk looked up with alarm at Spock. The Vulcan tried to keep his face neutral, but Kirk could tell by now the subtle indications that he, too, was at least surprised.

"Are you sure it was a Romulan?" Spock asked with urgency.

"Coulda been Vulcan…was bleedin'…green…" Sulu's words were becoming more slurred and his head lolled back to the other side of his bed. McCoy stepped in.

"Captain, he needs to rest now." Kirk nodded, turning to leave but Sulu once again interrupted him.

"He was lookin'…for you…" Kirk turned back around to verify that Sulu's eyes were indeed on him. McCoy rolled his eyes.

"Well, that's hardly a surprise given our history. Now out! You'll be the first to know if anything changes." Kirk nodded, his eyes once again traveling to Sulu who had fallen back asleep.

"Thanks, Bones." He said quietly. Spock followed him out.

Once the doors closed behind them, Kirk leaned heavily on the wall. Spock correctly guessing what was ailing the captain, spoke up quietly. "This is not your fault, Jim." Kirk pushed himself off the wall.

"I know, I know," he conceded. "I just can't help feeling like it is, though," he finished softly. They began making their way back towards the ship. "If it is Romulan spillover from the _Narada_ though…" he trailed off.

"…then we are all at fault. Logically." The corner of Spock's mouth turned up in what was the closest thing to a smile the Vulcan ever managed.

Kirk feigned offense. "All our faults? Spock, I was just gonna hand you over to them, gift wrapped!"

They were interrupted when Kirk's communicator chirped. "Scott to Captain Kirk." Kirk took the comm. Out of his belt.

"Go ahead, Scotty."

"Sir, Chekov and I believe we've discovered where the attacker is probably hiding. A series of vents intersecting on Deck Six."

"Understood. Scotty, grab a security detail and we'll meet you there."

Unconsciously, Kirk and Spock quickened their pace. Having a purpose gave them something to look forward to.

When they got to deck six, Scotty was already there. He nodded, pointing above him where several vents intersected. "We'll probably be able to force 'im out if'n we drop some smoke grenades at the entrances further along. I've already got some men stationed at the other ends. We've temporarily disabled all smoke detectors on board."

"Aren't we going to be breathing in this stuff?" Kirk asked skeptically.

"Ah, no Sir. We got the fans goin', and the backup air, so the only unsafe one's gonna be 'im."

Kirk nodded approvingly. "Well done, Scotty. Shall we get to it, then?" Scotty nodded, speaking into his communicator.

"Right boys, let's start it up." The group readied their phasers, standing in a circle around the entrance to the vent.

It took a few minutes for them to be able to tell that anything had happened. Finally, they saw smoke beginning to leak from the vents, but was quickly sucked up by the fans. After about ten minutes, Kirk was beginning to grow tired, but the firm look of resolve on Scotty's face kept him from saying anything. The man seemed certain of the outcome, so they waited.

When he did finally come, no one heard the telltale signs of banging in the vent. The access panel just dropped open, and he fell to the ground, landing in a crouch. "Don't move!" Spock was the first to shout. The man quickly glanced around, realizing he was surrounded. He reached into his belt.

"He said, don't move, dirt bag!" Kirk shouted. He didn't see what the assassin had pulled out. But Scotty did.

"Get down!" He jumped on Kirk, pushing him to the ground. An instant later, the world exploded around them.

***

"Captain. Argelian is dead, sir." Khaiel Tovan sat forward in his chair onboard the _S'tnero_, which was currently in orbit around Saturn. It was ironic that the same tactic the _Enterprise_ had used to get the drop on the _Narada_ was now being used against them. But Tovan no longer had the benefits of future technology, so had to make due with what he had.

"Do you know how?" he growled.

"No, sir." Tovan leaned back in his chair.

"Where is the _Enterprise_ now?"

"Still at the space dock, sir."

"Continue to monitor their progress. If they leave, follow them." He did not wait for a reply as he left the bridge. "Soon, Kirk, you will suffer the fate we all have suffered," he growled into the darkness.

_Thanks for all the story alerts, and thanks doubly to the people who took the time to review! Hmm, cliffhanger! I'll try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow, but no promises._


	3. Chapter 3

Kirk coughed harshly. He couldn't see anything, except his own hands in front of his face, which he had landed on. Everything else was a cloud of smoke and debris. Taking a mental stock, he didn't think anything was broken. But man, he'd be sore as hell for the next few days. There was an extra weight on his hips and back crushing him though. _Oh yeah._

"Scotty!" he was frustrated his voice came out as little more than a gasp. He tried again. "Scotty!" It was followed by a wave of coughing. The weight on his back shifted, followed by a coughing that wasn't his. Men around them were beginning to stir. The weight finally lifted from his back, and he turned his head to see Scott kneeling beside him, looking very disheveled. The explosion had dyed his usual red shirt a dusty gray, and it had been torn in a few places, but at least he wasn't bleeding. "You okay?" he panted, pushing himself up to his knees as well.

Scotty nodded vigorously, a look of mild annoyance on his face. Kirk was both relieved and amazed he wasn't more shaken. "Holy hell, that was a right explosion! I 'aven't been in an explosion that big before!" Kirk regarded the chief engineer skeptically. Had he actually been happy to be in an explosion? Kirk wouldn't have put it past him. Scotty then proceeded to look around, twisting his head quickly. "Where's Commander Spock?"

_Shit._ "Spock!" There was no answer. Kirk got to his feet, swaying a little as he began to blink the dust out of his eyes. "Spock!"

"Captain! Over here!" Kirk turned behind him to see Scotty throwing a large panel aside. He hurried over to find Spock's arm and head sticking out from under debris. He wasn't moving.

"Help us!" he shouted over the din of Scotty struggling to lift steel off the first officer. A few more men scrambled over to help free the Vulcan while Kirk put his ear next to his face. He was breathing. But slowly. Kirk screwed up his face, having no idea if that was a normal breathing rate for a Vulcan or not. He made a mental note to ask Bones a little more about Vulcan physiology. _Bones!_ He knew he had forgotten something. He reached for his belt, only to find his communicator smashed. He reached for Spock's belt, just as the other men were clearing the last of the debris off of him. Luckily, his communicator had fared better than Kirk's own. "Kirk to McCoy, we have a medical emergency on Deck Six, get your ass down here!" He didn't wait for a reply, instead turning back to Spock. A large piece of shrapnel was protruding from his thigh, stained dark green. Kirk ripped off his yellow shirt, exposing the black one underneath. One of the security grunts reached to pull out the shrapnel. "Don't touch it!" he yelled. The man froze. "God, don't they give you guys _any_ medical training?" He turned his shirt inside out, wrapping it around the shrapnel, staunching the flow of blood. Unfortunately, Spock chose that moment to wake up.

"J…Jim," he started struggling to sit up. Kirk put a hand on his chest, easing him back down to the floor.

"Woah, buddy. You might not want to look." Spock let out a very slight groan, and Kirk almost missed it.

"I assure you, Captain…I could not look…even if I wanted to." Spock seemed to have recovered his breath somewhat, but his statement took Kirk aback.

"What…do you mean?" he asked, scared of the answer. But he had a feeling he already knew the answer. Tentatively, he waved a hand in front of Spock's face. The Vulcan did not react. He turned to stare at Scotty, who looked just as shocked as he was. "Oh…my…god…you're blind!"

Spock let out a shuddery breath, of both pain and what seemed to be frustration. "Fortunately, it is only…temporary." Kirk's shocked look changed to one of confusion.

"And, you know this how?"

"A physical…reaction in Vulcans to…extreme light sources…" he looked like he wanted to go on, but Kirk, sensing this, gently placed a hand on his chest.

"It's ok, you can just explain it to me later." _Definitely_ had to ask McCoy more about Vulcan physiology.

No sooner had the thought sprung to mind when the doctor showed up with a team from the docking station's medical bay. "Over here!" Kirk shouted waving him over. The doctor rushed over.

"My god, man, you have to stop doing this to me," he growled, moving his tricorder over Spock's body.

"You _are _a doctor," Kirk huffed back. Turning his tone more serious, he said "He's the worst hurt. He's temporarily blinded-"

"What?!" McCoy shouted, interrupting him.

"Doctor, it is…a Vulcan…reaction-" Spock tried to explain.

"Right," the doctor said, seeming to remember some information. He turned to his assistants. "Get this one on the stretcher, but I want the rest of you," he briefly glanced at the crew in turn, "to report to medical for exams." He got up then, helping to lift Spock with five others on to the stretcher. To Spock's credit, he offered no hint that he was being caused any pain, other than a slight scrunching of his facial features. "That's an order!" he shouted as they hurried back the way they had come.

Kirk stood again slowly, Scotty with him. They marched off to medical.

Fifteen minutes later, Kirk found himself on a bed looking into a nurse's penlight. McCoy had accompanied Spock into minor surgery to make sure the shrapnel was removed safely. "We don't expect any complications," she said, finishing her explanation. "He should be out within the next hour or so. He probably only needs stitches," she said, finishing shining the bright lights into his eyes.

Kirk blinked rapidly to clear the spots that had appeared in his vision. "What about his blindness, what's the deal with that?" he asked.

"Oh," she said, as if she were being asked to recite something rather commonplace. "Vulcans have a natural protection against harsh light. A second eyelid, you might say, comes down to protect their eyes. Unfortunately it leaves them temporarily blinded for a few hours, but it's nothing too serious." She said.

Scotty, who was being examined on the bed next to him looked confused. "Huh. Weird." Was all he said. The nurse shot him a scathing look, like he had just insulted aliens everywhere. The look wasn't lost on him. "Uh…sorry," he said, somewhat abashed.

"Perhaps I am not the one you should be apologizing to," she huffed. She turned back to Kirk, who caught Scotty's scowl and tried to suppress a grin. "You are free to go, Captain. But if you feel any nausea, loss of hearing or vision, or blackouts, seek medical care immediately." He hopped off the bed, surprised at how shaky his legs felt. Now that the threat of the intruder had been dealt with, he was resigned to take a shower and then crash into bed. The _Enterprise_'s launch had been delayed another day, so maintenance crews could repair the damaged area of Deck Six. For the time being, the crew had been asked to return, but were to remain in their quarters and recreational areas of the ship, to make sure they were all accounted for and the maintenance crews were free to work.

He waved at Scotty. "See you later, Scotty." Besides a shower and sleep, he needed a new shirt.

A few hours later, he was awakened from his deep slumber by the door chime. He groaned into his pillow. "It's me," he heard McCoy say from the other side of the door.

Kirk groaned louder this time, rolling over. "Go away," he moaned loudly. Instead, the doors _whooshed_ open, admitting the doctor. Kirk sluggishly moved to an upright position. "How'd you do that?" he slurred tiredly.

"Medical override. At least I _gave_ you the courtesy of knocking." Kirk blinked the sleep out of his eyes, taking in his chief medical officer seriously. The man looked almost as much of a wreck as he did. The doctor threw something on his bed. He realized it was a bundled up shirt. "I assumed you wanted your shirt back. It's been cleaned."

"Aw, c'mon Bones. You didn't come back to give me a shirt. You missed me!" Kirk teased.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Do you _care_ what happens to your officers?" he said droningly.

Kirk feigned offense. "Of course I care! But I knew they were in your capable hands, so I wasn't about to lose sleep over it." He said, only half-joking.

"Obviously," McCoy muttered. He knew Kirk did care, but in truth the Captain had been through a lot, and really did need the rest. His tone turned serious. "Spock's surgery went fine. He only needed 15 stitches on his thigh. He should be good to report to regular duty by tomorrow."

"How's Sulu?" Kirk said, leaning forward.

McCoy sighed. "Honestly, after the rest of you got blown up, I haven't really had time to check on him myself. The nurses report he's doing well though." Kirk nodded.

"Jim, what's going on here? We're getting attacked on our own ship by bleedin' Romulan ninjas." He moved over to a chair and sat down heavily. Kirk rubbed his face wearily.

"Hell if I know, Bones. If it is Nero's crew, why did they wait until now to attack? Why not kick us when we were down?"

"Well, we did destroy their ship. Maybe they couldn't get a replacement until now." McCoy shrugged.

"Yeah, but why just send one guy?"

"Would _you_ attack a federation vessel while it was still docked?" McCoy raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Point taken," said Kirk, defeated. McCoy sighed, and leaned back in his chair.

"They're probably lying in wait for us, somewhere out there. Just testing us."

Kirk knew his friend was right. "That may be, but we can't just _not_ go into space." McCoy sighed again, standing up to leave.

"Well, just watch our backs while we're flying." Kirk shot his friend a lopsided grin.

"Don't I always?" McCoy huffed, but the corner of his mouth turned upward in a reaction to his captain's cockiness. "Get some rest yourself, Bones. You look like you need it."

McCoy scowled. "I don't need an invitation," he said as the doors closed behind him.

_Thanks so much to everyone who fav'd the story, added me to an alert, and once again DOUBLE thanks to the nice folks who took the time to review. I'm glad you're enjoying it._

_I have a friend who's a Trekkie, that I've basically been using as my Memory Alpha. I was asking him to verify Vulcan's blood color, and he told me about the eyelid thing. So sorry to long-time Trekkers if I messed that up, but I trust this guy. Also, my apologies in the previous chapters for referring to the Medical Bay as the infirmary. I keep forgetting I'm writing from on a ship now. _


End file.
